The Silent Mulla - An Anecdote

Mulla Nasrudin was tired of feeding his donkey. He thought his beloved wife, Fatima, sometimes should feed his donkey. She disagreed. They argued. They fought. They were angry. No resolution seemed possible.

The Mulla suggested that they weren't going to resolve their argument by arguing, so they should resolve it by not arguing. By not speaking. By both being silent. Whoever spoke first lost the argument. Whoever spoke first would have to feed the donkey.

Nasrudin sat in a corner and said nothing. Fatima sat in another room and said nothing. Finally, she had had enough. She walked out and went to a neighbor's house. The Mulla remained in their house.

That evening, a thief broke into the house. The Mulla said nothing. The thief took everything, and the Mulla didn't stop him. He wanted to win the argument. He had to remain silent. The thief even took the Mulla's beloved hat, from right off the top of the Mulla's head. Nasrudin said nothing.

Later that evening, Fatima began to worry. Nasrudin was a man of many talents, but he was useless in a kitchen. She didn't want him to go hungry. Still angry, but not wanting to speak and lose the argument, she indicated that the neighbor's son should take some soup over to her house, so Nasrudin would have something to eat. The neighbor's son did so.

The neighbor's son entered the house and saw the disaster. He was aghast. Nasrudin remained in a corner. The boy didn't know what to say, so he showed Nasrudin the bowl of soup. Nasrudin pointed to his own head. Of all his possessions, he had most prized his hat, and he wanted the boy to commiserate with him.

The boy held out the soup. Nasrudin again pointed to his own head. Never having understood his wise but eccentric neighbor, and now not understanding Nasrudin's gesture, the boy walked over and poured the soup over the Mulla's head. Then, he went home.

Finally, Fatima went home. She saw that the house had been ransacked. She saw Nasrudin sitting in the corner, covered in soup. She stammered out...

"We've... We've been robbed!"

Nasrudin stood up, grinned, and declared- "I win the bet! Now, you have to feed the donkey!"